TU Delft Hydro Motion Team – The First PCB

The TU Delft Hydro Motion Team consists of 23 ambitious, multi-disciplinary students. They want to show opportunities in the maritime industry to tackle todays and future climate change challenges by pushing the boundaries of sustainable technology.

Each year the team explores new, innovative, and sustainable developments together with the knowledge of industry experts and the experience of alumni. This year, the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team wants to take the next step in bridging the gap between “technology of the future” and the current norm by implementing the newest technologies. In just one year the team will design, build, and race an innovative next-level foiling hydrogen-powered boat. To put the boat to the test, they will participate in the Open Sea Class of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge 2023. There are three races which test their speed, manoeuvrability, and endurance before they can become world champions and initiate action.

The 2023 boat contains a lot of electrical parts. The connection and integration of these parts into the system is carried out by Printed Circuit Boards. The PCBs are an integral part of the boat’s electrical system. All electrical components, such as sensors, the motor and fuel cell are connected to them, either directly or via an interface bus (CAN), which runs through the boat. On the controllers on the PCBs the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team installs software that ensures that all these components are controlled, and that the data gets read out.

The Embedded Systems departments is responsible for the design, production, testing and debugging of the PCBs. The first and most important PCB that they made is the EMS (Energy Management System). This essentially is the board computer which controls all systems with software, and it switches the motor, fuel cell, battery, and converters on and off. It constantly checks the values of all systems and controls all components based on these values. For example, it ensures that when the pilot accelerates, the fuel cell produces more power, and the motor starts spinning faster.